Self-operating elevator-hatch sliding cover.



G. & S. WALKER. SELF OPERATING ELEVATOR HATCH SLIDING COVER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1909. 997,481 4 Patented July 11,1911.

A 2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

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G. & S. WALKER. SELF OPERATING ELEVATOR HATCH SLIDING covEB.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1909.

Patented July 11, 1911.

2 BEEETS-SHEBT 2.

coLumulA PLANOGRAPH 120., WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SELF-OPERATING ELEVATOR-HATCH SLIDING COVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 1911.

Application filed May 26, 1909. Serial No. 498,530.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Gnoncn WALKER and SIDNEY WALKER, citizens of theUnited States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Franciscoand State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement inSelf- Operating Elevator- Hatch Sliding Covers, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to sliding fire proof hatches or doors forclosing an elevator shaft in case of fire, and the said doors can bearranged at any point in said elevator shaft adjacent a ceiling, and asmany pairs of doors can be employed as may be necessary, depending uponthe heightof the building. The doors themselves may be of any fireresisting material or construction and the invention consists in themeans provided for the automatic travel of the doors from an open to aclosed position in the event of fire. The relative arrangement of thevarious parts with respect to each other can also be changed to suit thesize and shape of the elevator shaft in which the device is used, and inthe case of double shafts in which two elevator cages work, the variousparts may be duplicated or otherwise rearranged for the closing of sucha shaft.

In the following, description and in the drawings, we have shown theessential fea tures of our invention arranged in a convenient form foruse in connection with a single shaft and in these drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View, the doors being shown in openposition. Fig. 2

is a similar section, the doors being shown in closed position. Fig. 3is a plan View, the doors being open. Figs. 4C, 5 and 6 are sectionalviews illustrating details of construction. In these drawings 1represents the elevator shaft provided with the usual centrally arrangedvertical guides 2 and extending from these guides to opposite sides ofthe shaft are inclined traokways 3 preferably formed of channel iron.These trackways are suitably secured to the upright guides 2 at theirlower ends and at their upper ends are connected to hangers a secured inthe flooring. It will be noted that these track ways slope downwardlyfrom the ceiling and from opposite sides of the elevator shaft to thecentral guideways above referred to.

Running in these trackways are fire proof doors 5, the said doors beingprovided on their under faces and adjacent their side edges with rollers6 which travel upon the lower flanges of the channel irons, and in orderto avoid any possibility of the doors binding or jamming rollers 7 arefitted into I the opposite sides edges of the doors and bear against theouter vertical walls of said trackways, these rollers being shown indetail in Figs. 4: and 5, and it will be understood that the rollers maybe mounted in any manner desired as no specific construction of rolleris claimed. In order to permit the doors 5 to fit close together theirlower end corners are rabbeted as shown at 8 so that these corners willfit around the guides 2, the adjacent lower edges of the doors meetingon the central transverse line of the shaft. The doors it will beunderstood being held by the inclined tracks always occupy an inclinedposition.

It will be obvious from the above description that unless positivelyheld, the doors will run to the lower ends of the track and willconsequently close the shaft. To hold the doors in open position, weplace suitable pulleys 9 adjacent the upper ends of the doors, andpulleys 10 to one side, but in alinement with the pulleys 9. A fusiblecable 11 has its ends connected respectively to the two doors, and thiscable runs over the pulleys 9 and 10, and we also prefer to insertatvarious places in the cable fusible links 12 of any suitable material.It will be obvious that as soon as the cable 11 separates, or a link 12melts, the doors will run by gravity into closed position. Toeffectively close the elevator shaft a flange of metal 13 is run alongthe upper ends of the doors, thus sealing the upper edges from track totrack, as shown in Fig. 2, and we also tin or otherwise fire proofadjacent parts of the elevator shaft as shown at 14. It will be obviousthat any kind of rollers can be employed in connection with the door andthe pulleys and cables can be run in various ways without departing fromthe spirit of our invention.

What we claim is:

The combination with a hatchway, of V downwardly inclined tracksextending from to said doors and running over said pulleys, oppositesides to the center of said hatchas and for the purpose set forth.

Way, doors adapted to automatically travel GEORGE VALKER. down saidtracks and close said hatchway, SIDNEY VALKER. pulleys arrangedrespectively at the upper \Vitnesses:

ends and adjacent upper corners of said M. F. KENT,

door, and a fuse having its ends connected PAUL H. MOORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

